I Have a Theory
by PeggsterLover
Summary: Danny has a theory on a case but Jackie doesn't think it's plausible. However neither of them realise how right he truly is until it's too late. Will the pair be able to save themselves?


_Ok here's another short one shot. Hope it's ok._

_Summary: Danny has a theory on a case but Jackie doesn't think it's plausible. However neither of them know how right he truly is until it's too late. Will the pair be able to save themselves?_

_Disclaimer: Nup, still don't own them._

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Detective Reagan?" a voice caught his attention. He turned to see another officer standing next to him. "Could I borrow you for a moment? I need to grab a quick statement regarding the incident."

"Uh, sure." He followed the officer to a sofa in the reception area and sat down.

"Ok, please start at the beginning."

Danny sighed and thought back on how he and Jackie had ended up unconscious and tied up in the basement of the hospital.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

_Earlier…_

Jackie stared at Danny as he explained his theory to her.

"I don't understand…" she began. "Why would a doctor hurt these people, just to try and save them? I mean surely if he's doing this he would want to save them, right? So why let them die?"

"Maybe it's not the saving people part that he gets a kick out of." Danny explained, as they walked up to the reception of the hospital. "Maybe it's more that he is trying to save them and when they die, he still gets praise for trying the best he could." Jackie still didn't seem convinced so Danny sighed. "Look, I'm not saying it for definite, but it's still a lead. Just go with me on this ok?"

"Fine." She shook her head as they arrived at the counter.

"Hi, may I help you?" the receptionist asked.

"Yeah, I'm Detective Reagan, this is Detective Curatola, we're looking for Doctor Miller."

"Sure, I'll just page him down for you." As the woman began to call for the Doctor, Danny turned to Jackie.

"Hopefully, if my theory is true, we can get a list of all doctors who worked on both patients. Maybe he might even recognise the characteristics of someone he knows."

Jackie nodded as the receptionist began to speak. "He'll be down shortly, you can wait in that family room over there if you like." Danny smiled and the pair headed into the room. It was not too big, with a few sofas, some children's games, a window and a closet door in the corner. A few moments later, Doctor Miller walked into the room. He was about 50, grey hair and glasses perched on the bridge of his nose.

"Detectives." He said. In his hands, he had 3 coffee cups. He handed one each to Danny and Jackie. "I thought you might like a drink."

"Thank you, doctor." Jackie said, placing hers on the table as the trio sat down.

"So, what can I do for you?" the doctor asked, looking from Jackie to Danny, who was taking a sip from his drink before speaking.

"Doctor Miller…"

"Oh, please detective, call me Edward."

"Ok, Edward." Danny continued. "We think we may have a lead on who is responsible for the deaths of your patients."

Edward looked intrigued. "Really? Well how can I help?"

"We have a theory, nothing solid, however we believe it could be an actual doctor or nurse at this hospital." Jackie explained.

"One of my doctors?" Edward looked shocked. "I'm sorry to say this, but I do not believe for one second that any of my staff would do such a thing."

"Well, we think that they maybe wish to "play the hero" so to speak." Jackie continued. "Hurting them just to be able to get the adrenaline rush of trying to save them."

"Can you think of any of your staff who seem to get a thrill from saving people?" Danny asked.

Edward thought for a second. "I'm sorry… I can't think of anyone right now." He stood up, shortly followed by the two detectives. "I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help."

Jackie handed him her business card. "If you do think of anyone, or anything that you think may help us, no matter how insignificant, can you give us a call?"

Edward took the card. "Of course, Detective."

Jackie smiled and was about to turn to the door when she felt Danny grab her arm. She turned, wondering what was wrong when she saw him. His eyes were glazed over and he seemed rather spaced out.

"Danny? Are you ok?" she tried to get a response when suddenly he fell. She could only watch as his legs gave way and he collapsed to the floor, hitting his forehead on the coffee table as he went down. "Danny!" she yelled, bending down next to him. He was out cold however, checking for a pulse she found one. She turned to Edward. "Can you help me please? What's wrong with him?" Edward bent over Danny and looked at him.

"I'm not sure." He said. "I'll go get some more help." Jackie turned back to Danny and felt his forehead. She couldn't understand why he had simply lost consciousness like that. The only problem was, she was so caught up in worrying about her partner, she didn't notice the hard object being brought down towards the back of her head until it hit her. Then it was lights out.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Jackie sat in her designated chair, her head ached and she wondered why she was even there. She sighed, feeling the anger rising up in her body as she looked down at the floor. Trying for the millionth time since realising where she was, she struggled against the ropes around her wrists. No use. Her shoulders were hurting from the angle they had been pulled behind her. She strained her neck to look behind her.

In a chair placed back to back with hers, was Danny. He was still unconscious; the drug they gave him must have been pretty strong. From what she could tell he was slumped forward, the only thing keeping him on his chair was his arms being pulled behind him and tied just as roughly as Jackie's with rope. As she waited for her partner to come to, she thought back on the events leading up to their current predicament and sighed. Once again, although she hated to admit it, Danny had been right. However, it had turned out to be someone they did not expect. He had been right under their noses the entire time. They had figured out what might have been going on, but they had let the killer himself know. He obviously wanted them out of the way, but why not just kill them? Maybe he killed them he would be more likely to be caught. But then again, just locking the two of them away wasn't going to achieve anything either. Pretty soon, someone would know that they were missing. They had told their boss that they were going to the hospital. It was only a matter of time before someone came looking for them. Suddenly, a groan broke the silence.

"Danny? You ok?" Jackie tried to turn. She knew he was going to freak out the second he realised what had happened.

"Wha… Jackie?" his voice was groggy. "What the hell happened? Are you ok?"

"Yeah. Well, ya know your theory?"

"Theory?"

"Yeah, about the killer working at the hospital? You were right, yet again."

"Ok…" Danny paused for a moment. "Then why are we here? And why the hell can't I remember anything? What's going on?"

"What's the last thing that you _do _remember?" Jackie turned back to relax her aching neck as she waited for him to answer.

"We, uh, we went to the hospital… we were asking that Edward guy some questions… then…"

"Then what?"

Danny was silent for a moment. "Then that's it. Nothing. What happened?"

"Well I'm pretty sure that Edward guy put something in that coffee that he gave you."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, you went out like a light. How's your head by the way?"

"My head?" Danny paused, trying to understand what she meant when he realised that there was dried blood on his forehead. "I hit my head didn't I?"

"Yeah. Coffee table."

"Then what? He drug you too?"

"Nah, I didn't touch my coffee. Can't stand that hospital crap. He waited til I was checking on you. I think he hit me with something cos I don't remember anything after that and I have a bitch of a headache." She wanted to check on the matted hair mixed with dried blood that she could feel from the cut on the back on her head, but the ropes stopped her.

There was a slight pause. "You ok?" Jackie smiled at the softer side of Danny. You could almost hear the change in his tone of voice as he spoke.

"I'm fine, Danny. How are you feeling? I don't know what it was he used on you, but it must have been pretty strong."

Danny gave a small groan. "I guess I'm ok. Just a little light headed still and I tell ya, I'm glad I'm sitting down, or I think I might throw up."

Jackie gave a small laugh when suddenly the door to her left was thrown open. Both detectives turned to see Edward standing in the doorway. He slowly stepped inside, closing the door behind him.

"I gotta give it to ya…" Danny hadn't even been conscious five minutes and was already revving up the cocky attitude. "You definitely had us fooled. Well, at least until you knocked us out and tied us up."

"I see you have a sense of humour." Edward smirked evilly at Danny before stepping forward and backhanding him across the face. The sudden movement, combined with his nausea from the drug, made his stomach do flips.

"Geez, now I think I really am gonna throw up…" Danny glared up at Edward, who gave him a swift punch to the gut before walking around to Jackie.

"And you." He began, pulling her roughly by the hair so that she was looking up at him. She gave a small yelp at the pain. Before Edward could continue, Danny began to yell.

"Hey, you asshole! You leave her alone!" Edward looked up from Jackie to Danny and then back to Jackie.

"You're friend's a little feisty I see." He threw her head forward and let go of her hair, causing her already painful headache to grow threefold. He walked back around to Danny. Although the detective knew his yelling would receive consequences, he was glad that this creep had left Jackie. "So, I see you don't like it when I mess with your little girlfriend here." Before Danny could comprehend what was happening, he felt Edward's fist connect with his jaw. Immediately, he felt blood fill his mouth and begin to drip down the side of his lips. He blinked a few times to try and push away the black spots that appeared in his vision. When he looked back up, Edward was already heading to the door. "I'll be back later." And with that, he was gone.

"Danny?" Jackie spoke up the second the door was closed. "Danny!"

"I'm fine, I'm fine." He responded, still fighting the waves of nausea that refused to go away.

"You didn't have to do that, Danny." She couldn't believe that he'd got himself hurt to save her. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it…"

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

The pair sat in their chairs for a while after Edward had left. It seemed like hours had passed while they tried to figure out a way to escape. Jackie sat in silence as Danny struggled against the ropes that bound his wrists.

"Ya know I already tried that. A million times before you were even conscious."

Danny sighed and let himself go limp. "It was worth a shot."

After another brief moment of silence passed when suddenly Jackie remembered something. "Danny!" she tried to grab her partner's attention. "Hey, Danny. Can you reach my right jacket pocket?"

"Uh… I might be able to, why?"

"I have a small pocket knife in there. Can you get it?"

"Sure… wait why the hell do you have a pocket knife in your jacket?"

"It was my dad's. He gave it to me for good luck."

Danny was shocked for a moment at how they could have got so lucky before trying to reach the pocket. His arms were aching and the angle he was stretching them at caused his muscles so much pain, however he could handle it, especially if it meant they could get out of there.

"You can do it Danny. Just don't drop it when you grab it."

"I know. Get off my case, Jackie." He concentrated on reaching into the pocket. After a few tense moments, he felt his fingers grasp around it. "I got it!" Slowly, he pulled his hand out from the pocket and opened the knife up so that the blade was ready to use. "Alright I'm gonna untie you first. Oh, and apologies in advance if I cut you. I can't exactly see."

"Alright, enough with the talk, let's go."

"Right." He began to move the blade back and forth against the ropes. It took a few moments, however Jackie soon felt the ropes go slack and she managed to wriggle her wrists from them.

"I'm loose." She stood up swiftly, grabbing the knife from Danny's hands and prepared to cut him loose. However, a noise from outside the door caused them both to freeze. "Crap." Jackie whispered, throwing her chair out of the way and beginning to attack Danny's bonds. They were almost loose when the door swung open.

"What?" Edward's expression showed a mixture of shock and anger when he saw what his captives were doing.

"Jackie!" Danny yelled, pulling at the loosened ropes as he saw Edward make his way across the room towards her. Jackie dropped the knife and moved around to the other side of Danny. As Edward approached her, passing the front of Danny, the detective kicked out and caught him off guard. He finally freed his hands and stood up, giving Edward another swift kick to the groin. "Jackie go! I'll be right behind you!" he yelled, watching as his partner began towards the door. Presenting the doctor with one last kick, he turned to follow her, hoping to block off the door and lock him in on his way. However, what he didn't expect was Edward to recover as quickly as he did. He had retrieved Jackie's knife and was hurtling towards Danny. He grabbed Danny around the neck from behind and plunged the knife around and down towards his chest.

Luckily, Danny was fast enough to grab Edward's wrist and stop the blade from plunging into his heart. Danny spun, breaking free of Edward's hold and twisted the doctor's arm behind him, causing the knife to fall. As he reached for the other wrist, Edward threw his head backwards, the back of his skull connecting with Danny's nose. The detective felt blood pour from the injury and the force of the blow caused him to stumble back. Recovering, Danny looked up and saw Edward running at him once again with the knife in his hand. As Edward swung the blade around, Danny ducked, the sharp object barely missing his arm.

As the doctor ran past him, Danny used the opportunity to deliver a kick to the back of Edward's legs, causing him to fall forward, the knife once again falling, this time out of the reach of both men. As he tried to get back up, Danny ran towards him, pinning the man to the floor and gave two sharp punches to the face. As he raised his hand for the third blow, he was dazed by Edward's fist connecting with his left cheek, causing the skin to split. Blood began to flow freely from the wound and Edward used Danny's temporary distraction to flip them, so that he was in control. He continued his assault, punching the detective until he was on the verge of unconsciousness, when suddenly, he went rigid.

Danny looked up through half lidded eyes to see Jackie, standing over them. In her hand was her pocket knife, covered in blood. She used her foot to nudge his body so that it rolled onto its side and took the weight off Danny, who was breathing heavily. Once Edward's lifeless form was aside, Jackie reached down to her partner.

"Danny, you ok?" she pulled him to his feet, grasping his shoulders to prevent him from hitting the deck again. He looked at her and nodded. With one last glance at Edward's body, she supported Danny's weight as they walked up the stairs. As they reached the top and walked through a door, Danny realised that they were back in the family room where they had first been rendered unconscious. Jackie sat Danny down on the sofa and crouched down in front of him. "I'm gonna go and get a nurse to check you over and then call this in. Ok?"

Danny nodded again. "Sure." As she went to exit, he noticed blood on her hand. "Jackie?"

"Yeah?"

"Did I do that?" he motioned towards her injured hand, remembering when he cut her free. Jackie looked at it and then back to him.

"It's fine. You were saving my ass. So don't stress about it." She smiled before disappearing out the door. Danny sighed. Jackie was right. He shouldn't stress about small cuts or injuries. Both he and Jackie had them, but more importantly, they both still had their lives. He wanted nothing more than to just leave the hospital and go home to see Linda and the boys, but he knew he needed to be checked out. At that moment, a nurse entered the room. Once his cheek & forehead were patched up and the blood was wiped from his nose & lips, he was able to go out to meet Jackie. She was standing next to the reception desk, her hand had been bandaged and she was giving a statement to an officer.

"Detective Reagan?" a voice caught his attention. He turned to see another officer standing next to him. "Could I borrow you for a moment? I need to grab a quick statement regarding the incident."

"Uh, sure." He followed the officer to a sofa in the reception area and sat down.

"Ok, please start at the beginning."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Once Danny had given his statement and was cleared by the nurse after having stitches, he headed straight home. He was pretty sure Linda didn't even know what had happened, however he knew that would change the second she saw the state he was in. Stepping through the front door, he threw his jacket down.

"Linda? Babe, I'm home." He gave a small shout, not too loud in case the boys had gone to bed.

"Danny…" he heard her voice before she appeared. She sounded pissed. "How come you're so late and didn't bother calling? I've been worried si…" she stopped when she saw him. "Oh my God… Danny what happened?" she lifted her hand to the stitches on his cheek and forehead.

"Got into a bit of a sticky situation. But I'm fine. Honestly."

"Sticky situation?"

Danny sighed and gave a small smile. "I expect you will want to know everything?"

"Oh yeah." Linda took his arm and led him to the sofa.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

_Well there ya go. Hope you liked :)_

_Remember that reviews make me smile!_

_Much love_

_x_


End file.
